Miroslav’s big surprise

From European Voice's Entre-Nous column

1/28/09, 5:00 PM CET

Updated 4/23/14, 8:52 PM CET

A short shortlist for a big job?

The surprise resignation last Friday (23 January) of Miroslav Lajcák from the post of EU special representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina has prompted intense speculation about who might succeed him and take on the EU job and that of the Office of the High Representative (OHR). Lajcák was sworn in as Slovakia’s foreign minister on Monday (26 January), but his successor in Bosnia is guaranteed no such promotion. And, in any case, who would want a job whose mandate is uncertain? The job of OHR has already been held by Christian Schwarz-Schilling (Germany), Paddy Ashdown (UK), Wolfgang Petritsch (Austria), Carlos Westendorp (Spain) and Carl Bildt (Sweden), but its glory days are long gone.